


Master's Familiar

by Ellectrix



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Awkward Romance, Blood Mages, Dark Magic, Dimension Travel, Drama & Romance, Familiars, Gay, I hope shit makes sense, M/M, Mages, Magic, Magic-Users, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, world building is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-11 19:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15322248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellectrix/pseuds/Ellectrix
Summary: In which Dave falls into a different dimension from his own and is assigned as a familiar to a short shouty guy. That's really it.Read at your own discretion.PS APPARENTLY THIS WHOLE FIC HAS BEEN A MASS OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK FOR THERE MAY BE MORE CHAPTER FUCK UPS. PLEASE FORGIVE MY INEPTITUDE WITH USING THIS SITE AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES IN GENERAL.





	1. A Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, this will be slower going than my previous fic cause I won't be writing prerecorded chapters. I'm going with the flow, updating whenever I can. So... Good luck. Hopefully, I can finish this fic too. :')
> 
> Pls be kind I'm trying to figure this whole au out so sorry if some shit is fuzzy or something is unclear. I'll try my best to exposition the shit out of this. :')
> 
> Also, kudos to the person who figures out which anime I got inspiration from.

"Alright, everyone. Line up in a straight orderly fashion! The ceremony is about to begin!" The headmaster had called out to the group of teenagers standing about in the wide field of the school. About a hundred or two children stood around, milling about as they slowly got arranged into proper lines.  
  
"How do you feel about the whole thing?" Aradia comes up from behind you, scaring the absolute shit out of you. You practically jumped five feet in the air.  
  
"Jesus fucking christ Aradia. Don't fucking sneak on me like that, holy shit!" You growled, whirling around on her and baring your sharpened teeth. The rust blood simply giggled.  
  
"Whoops. Sorry. But you never answered the question!" She exclaimed, clasping both of her hands together.  
  
You rolled your eyes. You understand the hidden meaning behind the question. And you'd really rather not dwell on the idea and stab your self-esteem for the fifth time when it's already dead and all bled out.  
  
"I'm fine. It's just a summoning ritual. I've been drawing this shit since we were all fucking grubs in the elementary schoolfeed system. How hard can it be?" You said this with confidence, puffing your chest a little, but feeling absolutely foolish. Who were you kidding? Maybe you'd botch this up so much that it literally blows up in your face and kills you before the embarrassment of failing something so simple like a familiar ritual ceremony.  
  
Aradia nodded slowly, the enthusiastic smile never leaving her face. "Of course, of course. I believe in you, Karkat." She grinned, patting you in the back just as the teachers began rounding up idling students still not lined up properly.  
  
You give the curly haired girl a half-hearted smile and a nod before moving to join your respective class in line.  
  
You stood at the very back of your class line, a curse and a blessing bestowed upon you by your last name. Right now, it's a blessing since you really don't want to be the first one up. Maybe once everyone goes through it, not many will be paying attention when it's finally your turn. And the less you'd actually have to humiliate yourself in front of everyone.  
  
The sun was shining high above you, beating down on the students standing around, waiting for the ceremonies to finally begin. There were very few clouds to aid in blocking out the sun, much to your dismay. You were practically overheating, with your suffocating long-sleeved uniform with matching slacks, and mandatory clip-on cape that came with the uniform. God how you hate those things. They were only a blessing in the winter time.  
  
You casually look around at your fellow mages, silently cursing your short stature. From where you stood, you can't see a thing happening at the front. All you have is your hearing in order to piece together what's happening up front.  
  
It doesn't take long for the dean's voice to boom through the rest of the crowd.  "I see fresh new faces and I am delighted to know that our legacy will continue  on in the eyes of our youth!" She started cheesily, much like she did back on the first day of school assembly. You roll your eyes. "Today is a monumental event in every mage's life. Today is the day you will get to summon your familiars, lifelong partners to aid you in your studies and everyday life, starting today!"  
  
That made you fidget at the cuffs of your white long sleeves and twirl the fuschia and gold and green (the school's colours, according to the colour of the moons) necktie. As if this outfit wasn't already stifling and suffocating you under the heat. You pull at your tie, trying to loosen it and only ending up getting it completely undone. You cursed a little loudly, causing a taller student beside you to hush you. You roll your eyes.  
  
Familiar Ritual Ceremonies is one of the big steps one takes to become a fully fledged, properly functioning adult mage. Then getting your aspect and your title officially comes next, in the next year of your time in high school.

The whole system is fairly simple. Six years of the elementary schoolfeed, three years of middle school, and then three years of high school. The last three years being the most important because that's when you receive the last remaining things needed to become apart of your society. Yout aspect and title determine what you contribute to society.

Your parents and your older brother are counting on you to continue the Vantas family bloodline of blood mages. But you worry. You're already going into your second year in high school and you're turning eighteen soon but you still can't manage to conjure up the simplest of spells tied to your family's name and aspect. Sure, you can do the normal spells, but everyone can do that.  _You_ dont have anything going for you to differentiate yourself from the others other than the fact that you  _can't_ cast spells according to your aspect.  
  
Kankri insists that you're just a late bloomer and that you'll get there eventually as long as 'you don't force it and simply persist, then your patience will be granted success'. Even your father and mother agree, but you're not so sure. Especially when you see your father getting nervous about it too.  
  
But you've already faced the truth long ago. You're never going to be able to be a proper mage. You're a mutant. A freak of the family. Kankri will be the one to carry on the name while you bring shame to it.  
  
These thoughts plague your mind constantly and listening to the headmaster speak about the hidden greatness and raw power and potential in each student, you can't help but curl in on yourself even more. You're the exception to those words. You're nothing but a pathetic normie. What are you even doing in this damn school?  
  
Oh yeah, because your parents refuse to accept the fact that you're a normie, and that you'll access to your abilities sooner or later.  
  
It just makes you even more miserable because you don't have the heart to tell them that you're a failure. That some fucked up part of you believe those false words of hope and that you're just a really really late bloomer like they all said.  
  
But in your miserable state, you fail to notice that the line had begun to shift and move. You snap back to reality and listen to the words the headmaster was saying.  
  
"-one of you will get to stand up on stage and begin the ritual ceremony to summon your familiar. Remember that no matter what you get, they will be your lifelong companion. Don't be disappointed in whatever you get! Stand tall and be proud of them!" She had been saying, and it only made your heart accelerate at unbelievable speeds. It was starting and you're not prepared.  
  
The crowd was continuously shifting and murmuring now. But above the heads of taller students than you, you can see the gigantic white limbs of your head master's familiar. A humongous spider that's four times bigger than a  normal adult troll.  
  
Of course, you'd be proud of a familiar like that. You've heard so many stories about how the headmaster was at the top of her class in everything she took. It's no surprise she'd be the owner of such a majestic creature.  
  
You listened as each student was called up by name and performed the ritual. With each name, the more and more you felt like you were gonna lose your lunch over to the poor unfortunate soul closest to you. Your head was swimming with so many thoughts, like how you'll fail, or trip on your cape on your way up to the stage, or how nothing will happen when you perform the ritual, the last nail on the coffin is that you don't have a single bone in your body that contains magic. You hate it, you hate it. You. Hate. It.  
  
But there was no escaping your eventual school-wide humiliation. You should've voiced your concerns more to your parents so they didn't go ahead and sign the papers to continue your studies. But now, you're simply going to bring humiliation to your family by failing to conform and summon a familiar.  
  
"Sollux Captor!" Oh god, they're already at the C's. It's not long before they reach V.  
  
You pushed your way to the front, ignoring the curses and insults thrown your way as you weaved through the crowd. You had to see your friend's summoning ritual.  
  
He did as everyone had done before him, drawing the summoning circle onto the wooden platform with chalk with his family's respective symbol, before standing right in the middle and uttering the words. "Nota verbis vocando!" He said it with such confidence and conviction you'd never hope to have. 

A bright beam of light surrounds his form and as soon as it faded, he was surrounded by his new familiar- a pack of bees. You're sure they've got some sort of lethal poison in them to make them deadly. No familiar is ever completely harmless. They're tasked with a very important job; protecting their mage. If and when a mage dies, the summoning ritual has tied their life with their familiars, making it so that their familiars will soon join their masters in a short period of time. Most loyal familiars commit suicide as soon as their masters die before the magic even takes an effect and starts to put them through decay.  
  
You watched as he descended the stairs and a new student was called up. More and more students passed and your heart beat faster and faster. More and more of your friends go up and get their own familiars, a checkpoint that tells you just how close it is getting to your turn.  
  
Gamzee had gone up. And then Leijon went up and had gotten a tiger like familiar who looked as fierce as she does. You notice her notice you and give a sheepish smile your way before taking her leave. Kanaya, who surprisingly summons the most peculiar familiar of all.  
  
A human.  
  
A human girl with fair hair and sharp, sharp, eyes. A human girl that slowly sits up on the stage, violet eyes twinkling as she stilled, taking everything that surrounded her. But instead of letting out a shriek, like what most humans seem to do when summoned as a familiar in the past, she simply looked towards Kanaya with those bright eyes of her, expression questioning.  
  
Kanaya was quick to recover as everyone stared, quiet, all wide-eyed. She helped the girl up onto her feet and whispered something in her ear that made the girl simply look on with interest at everyone around her. And it seems, everyone looked on at her with the same interest she held for them. You wonder momentarily how it must feel to be surrounded by beings who look far from your own. You know you'd be terrified. You wonder why she isn't.  
  
It isn't particularly rare for humans to show up as familiars. But it's not common either. There usually would be a couple who summon humans with supernatural abilities hidden within them, about three to four people every year. They were strange in the fact that they had a working consciousness, making them almost equal to a normal mage, having an aspect and a title of their own.  
  
Even more peculiar is that it takes some time for them to get the hang of their abilities since this 'earth' that they came from is usually without magic or something stupid like that. A select few had very powerful abilities, so they were quite a desirable familiar to have. The problem comes with the fact that they're unpredictable, and owners of such familiars tend to have a harder time getting them to be loyal to them. They actually have to 'befriend' the humans and have a mutual respect for one another in order to work together and make an effort to earn their devotion. This usually takes an arduously long time to do, depending on the human. They weren't built like how most familiars are. Sure, you had to befriend your familiar, but most had a master and pet relationship.

Human familiars had a more complex relationship with their masters.  
  
Next to go up was Aradia, who summons a large white as milk ram, almost as tall as herself. Then Tavros who comes out with a bull like a fairy creature, most likely acting as a guide if no physical perk is given. Like Arenea Serket's small spider that whispers knowledge into her of varying importance.  
  
And then Peixes and Pyrope go up next and you're growing more and more anxious as the names drew closer to your own.  
  
When it was the youngest Serket's turn, nobody is surprised that she summons another human with seemingly the ability to control the wind and perhaps the weather when he inevitably freaked out by being surrounded by such creatures like yourself. But she easily got a handle on him and led him down to join the growing number of others with their familiar. You can just see her absolutely beaming to get such a powerful human which powers manifest right out the get-go.   
  
A few more names are called, but you tune them all out, your mind diving into the deep recesses of your self-hating mind.  
  
Until your name is finally called and everything in your being freezes up. You look up at the headmaster's smiling face that managed to look both friendly and frightening at the same time with her sharp teeth and the large spider that flanked her side.  
  
When you didn't make a move, she urged you forward with a little flick of her wrist that tells you to move forward.  
  
But you can't. Not with the way the crowd has gone silent once again, all eyes trained on you. And when you continued to be stuck in place, murmurs began to reverberate through the crowd, murmurs and whispers of your ineptitude and incompetence in things regarding magic. It wasn't a  secret that you lack the ability to summon or cast spells of any kind, much less your own aspect. The chance of you actually summoning something was very slim.  
  
"Mr. Vantas, we don't have all day." The headmaster both said encouragingly and threateningly, her silky voice sickly sweet. It makes you want to physically gag.  
  
Your throat has closed off and your whole mouth was as dry as a dessert in the middle of summer. But with all of their judging, doubting eyes, you couldn't find it in yourself to take a step forward and humiliate yourself further.  
  
But what was the other option? Stand around like an utter dumbass and humiliate yourself either way? Run away and refuse to perform the ritual and risk the inability to show yourself to anyone again with the shame and guilt weighing your shoulders down? That last one seems tempting, but when you get shoved forward roughly by some unknown student, it seems your choice was made for you.  
  
Stumbling forward, you forced each foot to take a step forward. One step, two step, three. Up and up the stage, each step leaving a creaking noise on the short staircase up to the dais. You stand in front of everyone now, but you refuse to lift your eyes and see their sharp eyes boring holes into your skull.  
  
You know your friends are also out there, probably trying to give you thumbs up and silent encouragements that you can do this, but you can't make yourself look up. Instead, you stared down at the dusty wooden floorboard and willed yourself to crouch down and pick up a piece of chalk.  
  
A red one.  
  
With it, you carefully redrew a new ritual circle, keeping a white-knuckle grip on the piece of chalk. Enough force that it actually snaps in half as you drew. But you proceeded, ignoring the blood rushing into your ears, filling the silence that surrounded you.  
  
With a heavy heart, you drew your family symbol right in the middle. You stared at your masterpiece for a few moments, taking your time before finally standing up to enter the middle when you heard a strained cough from behind you. Coming from the headmaster herself.  
  
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. You tried to remind yourself to breathe and not to hyperventilate and pass out stupidly. No one has ever heard of someone passing out because of nerves at a summoning ceremony, and you're not about to be the first one to elicit that piece of gossip.  
  
You closed your eyes, uttering the words. Silently and to yourself. Nobody else can hear it.  
  
Your heart was practically trying to beat it's way out of your chest when nothing happened. A flood of curses and negative thoughts came to your head before the circle began to glow an effervescent white light.  
  
The light grew and grew, and a moment that must've only taken a second or two felt like an eternity to you. As if time had gone to a crawl and every beam of light flowed put at a snail's pace before completely enveloping you.  
  
You closed your eyes, wishing against all odds that you're given a good familiar, if at all. Afterall, it's one you'll spend the rest of your life with.

 

\--- ☆ ---

  
  
"Rose? Rose, hurry the fuck up, a man has his needs you know." You called out, tapping your foot impatiently on the floor of your shared apartment with your cousin.  
  
After finally managing to get away from the toxic environment of your old apartment with your Bro, Rose had offered to let you stay in her own apartment. A flat she recently acquired after moving out of her own home when she turned eighteen.  
  
Living with her has been... entertaining to say the least. The two of you always dance around each other around the apartment, trying to weave both of your vastly different way of living together. Something that's been an interesting process to go through.  
  
You wouldn't necessarily pin Rose as a clean freak. Her way of living is more of an organized chaos. Things were being left everywhere, but they were done so in a neat fashion, especially comparing it to your naturally chaotic way of living.  
  
You had a bad habit of stashing things in your bedroom, and around the apartment in general, and Rose would always complain about finding an apple in between the cushions of the couch. You also left things around the house, not bothering to clean up since that was usually a luxury you didn't get to participate in.  
  
Your old life was always messy and cluttered, mostly from the strifes you were forced to participate in almost on a daily basis. Danger could be lurking anywhere, and your Bro's creepy puppet always had its eyes on you, watching your every movement. Things would always be knocked over and you'd be too tired to care about cleaning up the mess. Your Bro never thought it was necessary to clean up either, so you don't either.  
  
"Rose?" You called out once more, growing ever more impatient. Still no answer from the other side of the bathroom door. You're out here, sweating without your t-shirt on and a towel over your shoulder and she decides to take her sweet damn time.  
  
You decide to wait another five minutes.  
  
And when that was up, you groaned and looked for the house keys. "I'm coming in! You better be decent in there, or I'm flipping this shit like motherfuckin pancakes on a slippery butter filled pan." You called out, twisting the key into the lock and opening it up.  
  
You closed your eyes and even went to the extra effort of shielding your eyes already covered with your shades to avoid seeing your cousin in case she was indecent and has just gotten out of the shower.  
  
You expected to be hurled a soap bar at, some snarky, bemused response, or even verbal lacerations, yet you received nothing. You stand there awkwardly with your arm over your eyes before slowly putting your limbs down to find...  
  
Nothing.  
  
Now that's just some witchcraft right there. You know your cousin was into some freaky weird voodoo shit, but you didn't think you were actually shacking up with a witch.  
  
She's gone from the bathroom when you were right outside the damn door. She didn't come out and you had watched her enter right before you. She had taunted you for being slow and told you that first come first serve is the motto of the household when you whined about wanting to take a shower first.  
  
But now, she was just gone.  
  
You even checked behind the shower curtain and checked under the cabinet under the sink. Even checked the toilet bowl to see if she got sucked in by some alien type shit. Who the fuck knows? You certainly don't. You don't even know what's possible anymore, you're just guessing at this point. Aliens came to mind simply because she mentioned dreaming of strange grey creatures before. You imagined the greys, those weird beady-eyed aliens you always hear about in shoddy space 'documentaries'. Alien abduction via toilet didn't sound too far-fetched to you at the moment. But the more you think about it, the stupider you feel, so you'll stop that train of thought right there.  
  
So, where the fuck did Rose Lalonde go?  
  
How the fuck did she leave the bathroom with you closely guarding the door outside?  
  
"Rose? Rose, where the fuck are you?" You had still called out helplessly, leaving the bathroom and strolling the small apartment, looking for your cousin.  
  
But everywhere you looked, she was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in her room, under her bed, or under yours. She wasn't in the kitchen, hiding in one of the cabinets, or in the living room, cleverly hiding behind the television or behind the couch.  
  
Where the fuck did Rose Lalonde go?  
  
You're freaking out right now and with your phone in hand, you were about to dial down nine one one for this emergency, when something blindingly bright catches your attention from the corner of your eye.  
  
There was a sliver of light standing vertically in the middle of your kitchen, pulsing and moving, casting shadows all around it.  
  
You carefully approach the bright light with slow, deliberate movements. Thankfully, your shades allow you to look inside.  
  
And inside was...  
  
Well, nothing but more bright light. And like a stupid dumb protagonist, you reach out towards the light with a hand to try and touch the foreign thing, and as soon as you make contact with the white thing, you're sucked into the hole with no possible way to even retract your hand back because it happened so fast.  
  
One moment, you were in your kitchen, shirtless with a towel draped over your shoulder. And then a second after it, you're in the middle of some sort of stage, with rolling hills of green grass surrounding you, along with a sea of faces you don't recognize at all. Not just you don't know them. They're literally alien looking to you, with grey skin, bright yellow sclera, sharp teeth and horns of varying shapes and sizes.  
  
The fact that you're currently shirtless burns in the back of your mind.  
  
When you turn around, you find yourself face to face with a short alien creature thing, glaring at you as if he tried hard enough, it would just outright kill you on the spot. It wasn't intimidating at all like he probably thinks it is.  
  
"Where the fuck am I?" You blurted out because you have absolutely no filter on your stupid mouth.  
  
A tall woman approached with lavish dark blue and black dress that glided behind her, creating a little train. She wore pearly white glasses and a friendly, yet shark-like in nature, grin. She offers her hand to you.  
  
"Welcome to Alternia." She greets, dulcet tones ringing in your ears.


	2. A Familiar's Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people. I took only a few elements from the anime but I'm basically making my own lore here. Please don't come for my head if it's really bad :')

"What." He stared at you with blank eyes after you grappled with him over his stupid eye covers he apparently calls 'shades'. You've also given him spare clothes, more specifically, a black hoodie that was yours. You pinch the bridge of your nose and pace about your dorm room once again.  
  
"Do I really have to repeat the whole fucking lecture I just regurgitated for you once again?" You snapped at him, patience growing thin. Oh wait, you never had any to fucking begin with.  
  
"So what you're getting at," He started, lifting his hands to point at himself before pointing back at you, "is that I'm supposed to be your pet or something? Because if that's what you're getting at, I call bullshit on that. I'm not going to play pet with you. I'm not going to sit and roll around at your command or get fucking fed like a dog, I have  _rights_. Karkat. You hear that? I have rights that I can put into play in this whole situation. And that right is my right to refuse this whole shebang and leave. Just point me to the nearest fucking exit and I'm off and away from your life." He babbled on and on and  _on_.

Then, he turns right around and tried to open the door. You watched with mild amusement as he flinched away from the knob and level you an icy glare. It was a simple protection spell around the doorknob that makes it so nobody can touch it without being burned. An aspectless technique that literally everyone can fucking do. Hell, it was one of the first spells you learned to conjure up as a six-year-old.  
  
"I'm the only one that can open that door, fuck face." You tell him, feeling an inappropriate surge of pride. You're still you, the magicless magic student in the most prestigious magic school there is. Summoning the most douchest, disrespectful familiar was just pure luck. And shitty luck at that.  
  
He fixed you a glare. You simply smirked harder. How you have no idea. Don't question it, it's magic.  
  
"What the actual fuck, man? Why can't you just let me fucking go?" You heaved another heavy sigh.  
  
"I guess we're really doing this again." You mutter more to yourself than anything. "Even if you left out through that door, out of the Academy and into the streets of Alternia, you're still contractually connected to me. I'm always aware of where you are, so you don't even try and think of hiding from me. Second of all, I'm not going to play 'pet' with you. Our species are actually civilized enough to understand that you're no ordinary familiar, so we'll treat you as a normal being. Don't be fucking stupid. You're not a pet. Do I have to spell it out for your dimwitted human mind to understand? F-A-M-I-L-I-A-R. A companion to a mage and sworn to protect and help them through their lifetime."  
  
"What the actual shit are you talking about? Familiars? Mages? Magic? You've got to be shitting me. Is this like a bad live-action rendition of dungeons and dragons? Shit like that doesn't exist. Seriously, just tell me where the hell I actually am so I can get the fuck back to my normal life in my normal apartment."  
  
You outwardly growled at this point, growing increasingly tired of your familiar's wild chatter and pointless accusations. "Listen carefully, fucknuts because I have to repeat this twice and I am not about to repeat it a third fucking time. You're in Alternia, it's a different dimension just adjacent to your stupid universe and far more superior in every way."- you felt like you had to make that clear. -"There are thousands of different dimensions and a million more alternate realities and timelines. This is just one of them. Sadly, as much as I would like to send your ass back to your own dimension because you're an insufferable prick of a familiar, the summoning ritual is only one way. We don't actually know how to open a rift door and travel between dimensions without literally ripping a hole in our own dimension and letting in whatever fucking creatures from whatever fucking dimension to wreak havoc on every fucking thing. Things are a little more complicated than that, but you could at least understand the simplified version, right? Right. Because I'm not repeating it."

  
He stares at you some more, dumbfounded. You want to punch his face so badly. "What." He repeats yet again and. Yeah. You tried to punch him.  
  
But he was quick on his feet, avoiding you easily by ducking and sidestepping you. "Will you just shut the fuck up?!" You snarled, turning to face him, face contorted in pure anger at this point.  
  
He has his jaw set, fair brows furrowed, eyes determined. "I don't want to fucking be here!!! I never asked for any of this, I just want to be a useless shit bag of society and live eighty years paying for taxes I never see get used to actually better anything in our world. I don't want to fucking serve you or some shit and be a 'familiar', whatever the fuck that is! I just want to go  _home._ " 

That was it. You've had enough. "You think I wanted any of this either?! I don't have a fucking choice but live with whatever paradox space decided to leave me with, which is you, and you don't see me whining like a little shit eating grub! God, you said you were fucking nineteen, right? Fucking act like it, you stupid, insipid piece of garbage!!!" You had shouted at the top of your lungs and you don't give a shit about whoever gets to fucking hear you at this point. 

He looked at you with wide eyes. Looked at you like you were the affront to existence instead of himself. He was breathing hard, chest heaving up and down visibly. Then, he suddenly looks utterly calm. Like the fire behind his eyes just suddenly got wiped out by a frigid ice age. You actually felt shivers run down your spine. "Why don't you try to have your whole world flipped upside down for you, only to be told that you can't go back?" He spat, voice so bitter, you could almost taste it in your own mouth. "I'm sure you've got a family. So do I. Think it through."

He reached for his shades on the small cabinet sitting just beside the door. Afterwards, he turned away from you, wrapping his hand around the knob once again and hissing in pain. But he didn't flinch away. Instead, he turns the knob and opens the door, much to your surprise. You're sure his palm is burned from doing something so stupid.

And then, he was gone.

Although, he left the door open for you see Serket snickering to herself. She opened the door further and leaned against the door frame, a sickly happy grin on her face. "Can't even control your own familiar, Kats? That's a new low." She had taunted. You see Nepeta give you an apologetic smile from behind the tall, lanky girl.

You scowled and flipped the spider bitch off. "Why don't you fuck off a cliff, Serket? You'd be doing everyone a favour by ceasing them to listen to the shit that comes out of your mouth like an ass."

She cackled and was about to snark at you some more when Kanaya, bless her soul, comes in to pull her away. "Hey-! I wasn't done pitying the local norm- mmphff!" Her words were drowned out by the jade blood's hand on her mouth. You let out a sigh of relief as soon as you can no longer hear their footsteps.

Nepeta stood at your doorway, a nervous smile on her face. "I'm furry sorry about Vrisker's attitude." She said with a flush on her cheeks. She looked up at you and was about to say more, but you lifted up a finger to stop her.

"It's okay, Nepeta. It's not your fault that Serket's a shit spewing fountain." You muttered. "Can you just go? I think I want to rest early tonight." You tell her as kindly as possible without having to use the word 'fuck' and 'off'. But before she can answer, you closed the door on her. So much for being polite.

You groaned, feeling a tugging feeling inside your chest, almost like anxiety, to be away from your familiar. You closed your eyes and took a seat on your bed and rub your temple.

What were you going to do now?

 

\--- ☆ ---

 

Twilight turns to dusk, and dusk turns to night.

You're beginning to regret having walked out on your supposed 'master' and into a world, you know nothing about.

The walk to the nearest town wasn't all that far like you expected it to be, what with the wide open fields you saw earlier that day. Turns out, that was the back of the school and the front, albeit a long and wide courtyard, led right out to the streets.  
  
It was strange to walk on a wide cobblestone path with real actual horse-drawn carriages whizzing by past you. And the vendors that lined the street and around its corners were a jarring difference to the strip malls back in Texas. Back on Earth. The whole street was alight with life, street lampposts and brightly lit vendor stores guiding your way through the dark. There were also buildings, ones like an inn, a bar with swinging doors like you'd see in those wild west movies, and other various homes. Sometimes, the homes were right on top of the vendors selling goods on the bottom.  
  
Everywhere, you were surrounded by various scents and smell. The raw meat from the butcher's intermingling with the smell of fresh produce and fruits, along with the fragrance of flowers from the adjacent flower shop. And the people- so many people unlike you've seen before, all crowding around the sidelines to avoid getting trampled over by the horses that occasionally passed by. And the strangest part was the use of 'magic' in normal daily life.  
  
What you suspect to be a levitation spell to help carry grocery bags from eager consumers. The multitasking abilities of store owners and vendors like how the butcher was cutting up five different lumps of meat at a time with different knives in the background while he weighted some on a scale for a customer. And the strange creatures that followed a few of them, helping with tiny tasks around whatever setting they were in. You guessed that they were familiars too.  
  
The feelings that flooded you was overwhelming. Suddenly, it really sunk in your thick skull that you were no longer in a place of familiarity. You were in somewhere completely different, just like what Karkat had said. A whole different dimension with different rules and ways of life.  
  
Seeing the streets of Alternia only cemented that idea inside your head some more.  
  
This makes you feel small and insignificant, because holy shit, there are other worlds apart from earth. And millions of them from what Karkat had mentioned in one of his expositionary rants. It's a jarring feeling that almost makes you trip over a rock at one point during your walk around the streets.  
  
Your mind wonders back to your life before this. The one you're told you're never going to be able to go back to.  
  
There's a sick sense of relief in the thought that you'd never see your bro again, but you'll miss Dirk, and Roxy. They're the only family you've known.

Rose, by some miracle, had been chosen as a familiar for one of the mages, so you'll have a bit of comfort. You're not alone in experiencing this whole new reality you've been thrust in. And you've got a small piece of home with you.  
  
But it's still hard not to feel so alone and anxious and angry about this whole new world you know nothing about. You're starting to think about going back to that academy and apologize to Karkat.  
  
Only one problem. You don't know how to get back from where you've wandered off to.  
  
The street of vendors and customers seem to stretch on for a while and there are small nooks and crannies and corners that lead to a totally different part of town. You're so fucking stupid for thinking this was a good idea.  
  
You walk for a while, back the way you remember yourself going through. Eventually, you duck into a slim alleyway you _think_ you've gone into at some point.  
  
Bad idea.  
  
Inside the alleyway was a group of thugs chilling by a bunch of black plastic bags in which you assume contain junk and garbage. Actually, it reeks in here, like rancid milk that you've forgotten to drink before the expiration date eight weeks ago.  
  
You try to mask your emotions though, which takes extreme willpower on your part. Someone needs to give you a gold star right this goddamn instant. You demand it.  
  
The thugs, five of them, were chatting, leaning against the dirty walls of the stores, before going quiet when they notice you. You were in the process of turning right around that instant before you got tugged by your hood, pulling it off of your head, and pulled further into the alleyway.  
  
"Look it here, guys. We got someone from one of those aristocratic families. The Vantas'." The tall lanky one that's still holding onto your hood had stated, pushing you hard against the wall and looking down at the cancer symbol on your chest. Right. You forgot you were wearing one of Karkat's hoodies.  
  
"Holy shit. Dude, I think we just hit the fucking jackpot." Another one of them pipes up, a short chubby one with short spiky horns. You grimaced.  
  
"Look, I don't got anything of value, so if you could just let me go-" A hand comes over your mouth and you almost vomit right there on the spot at the stench and texture on your face. Thankfully, it only lasted a second. Unfortunately, it lasted a second too long.  
  
"Shut the fuck up, will you? We could do this the easy way, or the hard way." The lanky one with a broken horn hissed at you. He produces a switchblade from one of his pockets, looking at it lovingly for a moment before glaring at you.  
  
In a second's notice, you had pulled your hand back and threw a hard punch right into the lanky one's stomach, sending him tumbling to the floor, against a few garbage bags, and thankfully, away from you. "Motherfucker!" He had growled, low and guttural. "Get him, boys!"  
  
You had strifed with your Bro multiple times a day ever since you were a child. He taught you almost every single way he could in defending yourself. But he was always just one man. You're up against five of them.  
  
You think you put up a good fight for a while before you're eventually pinned down to the ground by two of them and the tall lanky one towers over you before kneeling down to sneer at you. "How much do you think he'll be?"  
  
"Oo! At least five hundred thousand caegers. He's a familiar after all, and one of the aristocracy too!" One of them squeaks from behind you, one of the ones currently sitting on you to keep you down.  
  
The lanky one smiled menacingly. "Think they'll still take him in the auction if we damage him a little?" He almost purrs out, taking out his switchblade once again and pressing it against your cheek, just hard enough for a small bead of blood to run down its metallic surface. You cursed at them.  
  
But before he could continue to slice at your face, a shadow looms against all of you, completely blocking out the lamppost lights just outside of the alleyway. This catches the thugs attention.  
  
They almost immediately get off of you as whom you realize is the headmaster approached, heavy boots making contact against the cobbled floor.  
  
They run away in a flurry, shouting curses and insults on their way out.  
  
You pushed yourself up and off of the floor, ignoring the hand the headmaster offers you. "Thanks, I guess, or whatever." You say coolly, but you're honestly very gratified that she came. How she knew you'd be here, you have no damn idea.  
  
"It's no problem at all, Dave." She said with an airy tone to her voice. Much different from the sweetly deadly tone she used when you first met her. "Are you alright?"  
  
You dust yourself off, eyeing the giant spider standing idly behind her. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. How'd you know I was here?"  
  
"I didn't. I was just having a nice little stroll when I noticed you getting roughed up in here. You're a pretty good fighter, Dave."  
  
"Thanks... I guess...?" You had stated the question more of an inquiry than anything else.  
  
"Come. I'll help you get back to the academy." She said, turning around and walking out of the alleyway, not looking back and expecting you to follow after. You do.  
  
"Pry tell p, what were you doing out in the streets so late into the night, Dave?" She inquired. You noted that despite being a good six inches taller than you, she's keeping her strides short to match your own.  
  
"It's only nine-fifty. It's not that late." You paused. How did you know what time it was? But you resumed your walking when you realize that she'stalking once again. You can worry about such a minor thing later.  
  
"Hm. Alright, if you say so." She said casually, hands tucked behind her as she walked. "You still haven't answered my initial question though, Dave. What are you doing wandering around without your mage?"  
  
You bite your lip. "Uh... Can't a guy have his own free will and go wherever the fuck he wants to?" You answered instead.  
  
"Of course." She replied easily. "But something tells me that's not the only reason you're out here on your own, defenceless at that too."  
  
You sighed, pocketing your hands into your hoodie. "Fine. We had an argument." You admitted, rolling your eyes. Of course, you'd have an argument. Your personalities simply clashed too much for there to be any connection of any sort to form.  
  
He was ornery and abrasive. You were... you calm and cool.  
  
"Hm. Makes sense. I understand why you'd be upset about your current situation." She commented, never peaking a glance over at you. So, you kept your own eyes on the road, occasionally looking over at the giant spider with mild discomfort. "We've forcefully taken you away from your home dimension with no way back. I'm sure you've left behind important things and people."  
  
A shrug is all you can manage as a response to that. Sure, you've got family, a brother and another cousin, but you suppose you weren't as close to them as you would've liked to think. You know Roxy would be distraught if she finds out that you and Rose went missing. Roxy had always been the more emotional one between the two of them.  
  
And that... that did make you feel guilty. You can already imagine her, crying with her boxes of cat-themed tissue paper, contemplating the idea that you may never come back. That you may be _dead_. Depending on how long you stay here, which is looking like the rest of your life at the moment. Your stomach sinks at the thought.  
  
"Although," She started once more, glancing at you for the first time. "It was unfair of you to simply think about yourself. Vantas is... a special case. He's dealing with a lot on his own as well, along with the added weight of you in the equation."  
  
You can't help but roll your eyes. Why do you need to care about that guy? He's not the one stuck in a foreign world with no way back home. Whats more, you're being told that you have to be a familiar for him and follow his every command. What could he possibly be battling that would even measure up to what you're dealing with right now?  
  
"You don't always have to follow his every command. You're free to disobey him as much as you can. Afterall, human to mage relationships in terms of familiars is a unique one. It's one of mutual respect for one another and their capabilities. A close companionship akin to brotherhood, or something more. It's a misconception to think that you have to act like his pet just because you're the familiar. The same can be said for all familiars, though most just choose to follow their mages without much of a fuss. But there are always special cases." She suddenly said, as if she was just reading your mind. You splutter, stumbling on your steps for a moment while she simply gives you a mysterious smile. "Give him a chance. Let him tell you his side of the story. You're not the only one having difficulty with this whole transition."  
  
"So... you said he was a special case?" You inquired instead, avoiding thinking about that for now.  
  
She nodded. "He's not gifted like the rest of the students. At least, not yet. That's already a lot to deal with, considering most untalented trolls usually end up being disowned to protect the family name. And although I cannot say the same for the Vantas' lineage on what they would do if he doesn't unlock his potential, there's still the pressure to perform well. And to do that among his peers makes it even harder on him, considering not all are as forgiving for trolls without magic."  
  
You take in her words and deconstruct the meaning. So. Because he can't do magic, there's the possibility of his own family disowning him and on top of that, he's being bullied? But wait, he was capable to magic- that trick he did with the doorknob. You pull your hand out from your pocket and examine the burn mark left on you for opening the door.  
   
Again, as if she can see your thoughts, she speaks once again before you can verbally propose your question. "There's two types of magic here. General magic, and aspect magic." She began. "General magic are spells, incantations, and rituals that can be done by anyone with a shred of mana inside them. Simple spells like levitation, lock spells, and many others are categorized as general magic because they do not tie into a magic aspect.  
  
"Aspect magic, however, is much more... Ah, let's say specialized. There are certain spells only a time mage could do that a mind mage cannot replicate. There are even more specific spells that only a single person of that aspect and class are able to do as well if we add in the titles. This was a categorized system back when the Great War raged on in Alternia's lands. Each title gave you your role in the war, and each aspect told you what you were capable of doing with the boundless magic that surrounds this dimension. We simply continue to give our students their title and aspect as a formality even though the war has ended a millennia ago. Tradition. It's just how we did things for so long, getting rid of it now would just be tedious work."  
  
Alright. You may or may not have zoned out for half of that lecture.  
  
"So... What about Karkat? He can do general magic, but not his aspect magic?" You questioned further.  
  
She narrowed her eyes for a moment, lips pursed. "There's something special about him. A special reason why he can't access his abilities now, but he will in the future." She seemed to say all of this cautiously. "But yes, to put it simply, he cannot conjure up spells tied to his aspect."  
  
So. Rechecking facts. Karkat is being sort of bullied for not being able to use his aspect's magic. "How does one 'unlock' these capabilities in the first place?" You decide to ask instead.  
  
She hummed in response. "It's usually naturally occurring. Sometimes it's tied to an item of sentimental or magical significance. There are other times when it's a certain number of events must happen before they can use their abilities. Like an inciting event. In Karkat's case, it's the last one."  
  
You nodded. So, Karkat hasn't been able to do his magic shit because of a certain event that needs to happen first.  
  
She continued to speak. "You're also imbued with magical capabilities, Dave. You have an aspect of your own. As a familiar, you have special abilities that enable you to protect your mage. But you'll find that out in due time."  
  
You perk up at this statement. But before you can ask any more questions, you look up and realize that you have reached your destination. The fauna filled courtyard stretched in front of you and within a few minutes, you reach the wide wooden double doors into the academy.  
  
You were just about to turn around and feel your way back to the dorms room when the headmaster taps you on the shoulder. You give her your attention.  
  
"One last thing." She held up her hand near one of the walls. You were about to question her strange action when you notice spiders crawling down the wall, one of them landing on her palm. "Follow this spider. This should take you back to him."  
  
She kneels down and lets the spider crawl across the floor. You watch it climb the stairs before turning to her. "Thank you." You tell her curtly because you're bad at things like showing gratitude to someone.  
  
And then, you're off to find your way back to Karkat, making sure not to step on your spider guide.  
  
It does take longer to reach Vantas' dorm room. After a few twists and turns, various spiral staircases, and a few long-winded corridors, you made it to the dormitories. Once you were standing in front of the door, your spider friend was quick to scurry up the walls and off to do whatever spiders do.  
  
With a tentative hand, you knock on the door.  
  
"Fuck off!" You hear him curse from inside. So, you knock again. "I said," a pause in where you hear shuffling. "Fuck off-" He finished the last syllable, his voice trailing off at the sight of you.  
  
His expression went from surprised to one of utter unamusement, brows drawn together, lips pursed. "What the fuck are you doing back here, maggot hive shit head?"  
  
You... hadn't really prepared for talking to him again. You probably should've thought of what you were gonna stay before you knocked on his door. So you just kind of, stood there for a moment too long because then he starts to close the door and stick your foot in to stop him from closing it on you.  
  
"Wait." You find yourself saying. What are you going to say? "Let's talk?" Apparently that.  
  
He looks you over, sizing you up before sighing. "... I don't have a choice, do I?" He murmured as he took a step aside to let you inside the room.  
  
It was a fairly spacious space with a bed in the corner and a small walk-in closet at the foot of the bed. A window that looked out towards the courtyard sat on the opposite wall of the door. He moved to lean against the cabinet nearest to the door while you awkwardly took a seat on his bed, sitting at the edge and taking as little space as you can without falling off.  
  
"What the fuck did you want to talk about?" He snapped, crossing his arms and fixing you with a scowl. You're starting to think that that's his default expression.  
  
"I uh... I guess I wanted to say I'm sorry?" Yep. Great job, Strider. Very eloquent. "I mean, for walking out on you and shit. I was being inconsiderate of your situation too or something like that..." God, you're so bad at this.  
  
"How the fuck would you know anything about my situation, you jackass?" He barked, and yeah, that's a very good point. You'll answer this one honestly.  
  
"I was doing some thinking and the headmaster came around and talked to me. She told me of your 'inability to use aspect magic' and shit and how that's making it difficult for you already without me having to add onto bit by being a shit familiar." You decide to say casually, moving up your hands in meaningless gestures. You just like having something to do with your hands.  
  
He stilled at this and looks away. You think you almost see tears in his eyes, only for him to scratch roughly at his face to hide it. "So fucking what that I'm a useless piece of shit? I don't fucking need pity, especially from you, shit eating turd fuck."  
  
"I'm not pitying you-" You say before pausing. Then, "I'm being considerate."  
  
He looks at you like he was ready to tear your insides apart and strangle you with your own entrails. "Yeah, well, I don't fucking need it."  
  
"Look, I'm trying to be cooperative here for once, okay? I can't do jack shit in this world of yours aside from being whatever a fucking familiar is supposed to do. So work with me here, man."  
  
He's quiet for a long while, staring at a patch of the ground in front of him. "... Fine." He finally says. "But there will be ground rules between us."  
  
You nod. Reasonable enough. "Alright. Lay it on me."


	3. A Familiar's Sword

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do you guys like this ;-;

First of all, he wants you to be punctual. Wake up the same time as him, go to bed at the same time as him. Then there was the bed situation. He said it'd be a couple of days before the school could wrangle in a bed of your own so for now, you're sleeping on a sleeping bag with a couple of pillows on the ground for the time being.  
  
Then he wants you to do chores for him. He had rolled his eyes when you complained about feeling like his own personal maid (You may or may not have added a line about wearing a skimpy maid outfit) and compromised that he'd switch shifts with you on certain days. He wanted you to do some dusting, sweeping and wiping around the room and he insists on it despite his room being ridiculously tidy already. He also wants you to do his laundry, a task you found embarrassing when you had to do outside with a washboard since washing machines apparently did not exist in this reality. And he can't do a proper cleaning spell without accidentally setting his own clothes on fire. It was quite the sight when you insisted he demonstrate what he meant.  
  
He also needed you to accompany and assist you in every class, since all familiars apparently lived their lives ninety-nine percent attached to their masters. The only good thing that came out of that is that because Kanaya was in most of Karkat's classes and they were good friends, it meant you could hang out with Rose and chat with her as long as you do it in hushed voices.   
  
And then there was the situation with food. Most of the time, each student ate at the dining hall, but familiars weren't allowed inside. So instead, there's a special space that Karkat leaves you in with all the other familiars where you were served your own food. Thankfully, the school has a set up for 'human' familiars so you got to sit on your own table and ate actual food. Flavorful food at that. You don't think you've ever had such a great meal in your life, ever. Rose was a terrible cook so most of the time, the two of you went out for take-out.  
  
There, you met two other familiars. John, who was the familiar of Serket, the mage whom you've noticed is the one that mostly picks on Karkat. The other was a girl named Jade, who has been living here for about two years apparently. She was a familiar of one of the senior students although she was pretty much the same age as the three of you.  
  
And then there was the problem of bullying. You caught a glimpse of it ever since you started to hang around Karkat to his classes. Most of this was orchestrated by previously mentioned Vriska Serket. She would accidentally knock him over in the halls. Others did the same, and some would even go as far as shoot spitballs his way during classes. Then there was the shoving where you would awkwardly help him pick up his things when he happens to be carrying anything at the time when he was pushed or elbowed on purpose. You find it strange that he never asks you to protect him, even though that's apparently your main job in the first place. You feel bad for the guy.

He seemed to be used to all the name-calling, and you quickly picked up that being called a 'normie' was a bad thing. You also realize that whenever a demonstration is to be made, the teacher never calls upon Karkat. Apparently, on top of being unable to do aspect magic, he's also shit at general magic in general. You felt really bad for him then. He seemed to be vastly different from the others and you remember your own days in high school and about being different, with your eyes and whatnot.

It all comes to a boiling point when he comes back to the dorm with scratches and bruises all over his body after going to the library to study since he said he couldn't stand your 'incessant chatter'.  
  
"Vriska pushed me down the stairs." He had explained to you, running a hand through his hair. You had frowned at that.  
  
"How come you just let her get away with it? How come you let everyone get away with picking on you?" You questioned. He shrugged.  
  
"What do you want me to do? Scream at them some more and get called even more derogatory names? I've done that before and it got pretty old pretty quickly." He answered, standing in front of the mirror to access the damage. He pulled out a first aid kit from the cabinet nearby the door and began patching himself up.  
  
You didn't know what else to say to that, so you had stayed quiet and continued to fold his clothes for him. By the way, you've gotten to just wearing his clothes around since you don't have any of your own. Thankfully, Karkat liked loose and baggy clothing when he's out of his uniform so size wasn't that much of a problem.  
  
But it really started to irk you the more you watched him just roll with the punches. He's pranked often, and you soon find out that Vriska uses most of John's knowledge to fuck around with Karkat. But John seemed to be completely oblivious to this, not knowing that his pranking was actually causing damage.  
  
You... don't know what to do about the situation. You've approached Rose, but she simply gave you the cold shoulder and told you that her days of playing therapy were over and to find out a solution yourself. You were a legal adult after all.  
  
Until one day, you were forced to act when you were dragged into the equation. Not that you weren't already dragged into it by simply being in association with Karkat. But something about this situation just called on you to finally act.  
  
The class had been taking a tour around some weapons archive or something, you hadn't really bothered to pay attention.  
  
What caught your attention though, was this sword stuck on a stone, a sash of red velvet surrounding it to keep students from touching the ancient artifacts.  
  
"Cadelfwlch, also known as Caliburn or Excalibur, was used in the war to change the tide of the battle. After the Great War in which our ancestors battled against those beyond the dimension, the last wielder of Cadelfwlch had decided to seal the sword with binding magic to a rock in order to prevent it from landing into the wrong hands." The teacher had been explaining to the whole class.  
  
You look up to the hunk of rock with the glint of the blade catching the sun's rays. Something in you feels like it's beckoning you to pick it up. But you dismiss this feeling. You don't want to cause trouble for Karkat.  
  
"It's said only the most worthy could ever wield it again, and only at times of disaster and calamity." He continued before droning on more about its history. Like who had wielded it and how it was conceived in the first place. You think you hear something about it being forged from fragments of metals that came from another reality.  
  
"Hey Karkat! Why don't you get your useless familiar to try and pick it up? I heard he's supposed to be good at swords, right?" Vriska had taunted from the other side of the group, making sure everyone heard and saw what she was doing. You tried to ignore her but Karkat seemed to not apply the same strategy to the situation. You've always kind of been just a silent presence beside him anyway.  
  
"Shut the fuck up, Serket!" He had retorted back.  
  
"Language, Mr. Vantas!" The teacher had snapped and Karkat scowls further. "And Ms. Serket, please keep it to yourself if it's not contributing to anything in a positive or progressive manner."  
  
"I am being helpful! Maybe  _Mr. Vantas_  over here would actually have competent familiar if he managed to take that sword out! I feel bad because of his lack of talent, I thought I'd just throw the idea out there because so far, his familiar's only talent seems to be washing his undergarments!" She had snarked, her smirk growing.  
  
You notice the blind girl trying to get the Serket girl to stop, tugging on her sleeves to get her to move on, but she simply acted as if the other didn't exist. "Shut the fuck up, Serket, I fucking swear or I'll-"  
  
The girl had split the crowd now to allow her to walk towards Karkat and lean down, pointing a finger into his chest. "Or what, normie? Think you can really take me on a fight? I bet your familiar cant either. You're both useless! You're nothing but a pathetic little wriggler. And a literal mutant at that too! Why are you even here in the first place? Shouldn't you be in preschool, learning basic magic?"  
  
"Ms. Serket, that is enough!" The teacher had bellowed, marching over to grab her by the wrist and pull her away from the other. "You'll be getting detention for that stunt, young lady."  
  
"Really? What do you think my mom would say about that, hmm?"  
  
"Ms. Serket, don't threaten me. I assure you that your mother would agree in this disciplinary action."  
  
Most of the students began to shuffle as the teacher had begun walking forwards again to continue on with the tour, but of course not without the whispering within the crowd after what had just happened. But Karkat didn't move, his head down.  
  
You notice that his fists were closed into a tight fist, shaking lightly from what you assume is rage. You took a step forward, lifting up a tentative hand to put on his shoulder. You stop halfway there.  
  
Oh fuck. He's actually crying, strange transparent pinkish tears rolling down his cheeks. Your chest suddenly swells with something you can only place as anger. 

And a sheer instinct to protect him from everything.  
  
You look up at the sword again.  
  
An idea forms inside your head.  
  
This is going to be utterly stupid and probably do more harm than good if you fuck up and this doesn't work. But you have a feeling it will.

 

\--- ☆ ---

  
  
That  _bitch._  
  
You hate how she got under your skin and made you break. But you hate yourself even more for breaking in the first place. How pathetic can you get? And what's worse is that everything she said was true. You were a mutant in every way possible, an outcast from everyone else. You were unnatural. You shouldn't be existing.  
  
And you feel like you don't want to exist anyway.  
  
These thoughts rush around in your head as big fat hot tears rolling down your cheeks, but you can't even manage to lift your hands to wipe away at them. All you could feel was the trembling of your fingers and your claws sinking into the flesh of your palm. You're just glad the class was moving forward so they couldn't see you cry like a little shit.

Gog, what would Kankri say if he saw you now? And your dad, he'd certainly ashamed. You could be kicked out of the house and into the streets to fend for yourself. The reality of it sinks into your chest, fresh new tears running down your cheeks, trailing after the wet path of previous tears before it.

You're such a fuck up! You're a piece of shit that shouldn't be existing and you just wish someone would come and kick your ass right now so you can just ache and hurt on the floor like you deserve for even  _breathing_ , and holy shit it was getting harder and harder to breathe and you just want the ground to swallow you whole already and end this agonizing experience-  
  
But your attention snaps up to your teacher shouts something you didn't quite catch. You turn around to see what everyone else seemed to be so wide-eyed about.

Only to find your dumbass of a familiar past the velvet rope that surrounded the rock of Cadelfwlch and climbing up to reach for the hilt of the sword.  
  
"Dave! Get the fuck down from there!" You had shouted, feeling heat burn in your cheeks. Shame was already settling into your stomach at this stupid show that's certain to end in your humiliation. Hell, it was humiliating right now. How pathetic can you get? You can't control your own familiar, you can't even get along with him, and your whole life was a big fucking mistake you wish you had a big eraser to use to erase your existence.  
  
What the fuck was he thinking? He couldn't lift the goddamn thing no matter how much he tried. This was only going to further shit on your already shitty reputation. Is he out to fucking kill your social life? As payback for summoning him here? Fuck! Just fuck your whole life!

Everyone just has it out for you, don't they? You're sure Kanaya, and Sollux, and Nepeta only hang out with you because you're so pitiful it's actually fucking hurts not just you physically but everyone else in your vicinity.

Life must be having a riot right now. " _Hahahaha, look at this little shit over here, this is the best damn mistake I've ever made!!"_  Karkat Vantas just can't get a motherfucking break, can he?!

What's more is that you could already imagine all of the stares and all of the rumours that are bound to spread throughout the whole school.  
  
_"Hey, did you hear about that normie kid whose dumbass familiar tried to lift Cadelfwlch from its space inside the rock? It was fucking hilarious dude, holy shit it was so fucking stupid, everyone lost it."_  
  
Dave finally gets up to the top and you're surprised nobody has gone forward and followed him to stop him. Maybe even your teacher is curious to see your humiliation too.  
  
He wraps his hands around the hilt and you watch him pull with effort.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Snickers and giggled were already starting around your fellow classmates behind you. You could feel their burning eyes on you, hear their whispered remarks about you. Your blood burns underneath your skin and you could feel fresh new tears pooling around your eyes. You close your eyes tight, trying to stop the tears from falling. Everyone's eyes were on you now. You can't cry. You can't. You  _can't_.  
  
_Fuck this. Fuck everything._  
  
You watched as he pulled again, still putting effort. Gog, you just want all of this torture to end. You were deeply hoping that you're just having a really bad dream and that you'll wake up any second now and that you're not actually crying for your whole class to see. This was such a nightmare, this can't be reality. It can't be. Maybe if you just think it hard enough, it'll make it so it won't be real. It can't be, it can't be, it can't be-

You hear awed noises coming from behind you and your heart comes to a stop. That wasn't supposed to be happening.

You chanced to open your eyes again.

Dave was still up on top of the rock, feet placed between either side of the sword as he pulled.

The sword budged.  
  
You suddenly find yourself unable to breathe.

What.  
  
Effort. More movement.  
  
_Effort_. The line where the sword met rock began to glow.  
  
He continued to pull on the hilt with great effort on his face and you watched as it slowly slid out of the rock.  
  
What the fuck.  
  
_What the fuck_.

It's official. Your brain has stopped working.  
  
Soon, you're staring at him atop the rock, ancient blade out of its previous place embedded into the rock. He holds it with such ease, it's easy to think that he's always held the blade. Like he hadn't just pulled it out moments before. 

 _Holy shit._  
  
You could hear your peers stir behind you, but you're stuck in place. You watch him climb down the rock with the sword still in his hand. And soon, he's standing before you, a genuine smile on his face. The first one you've seen on him since he arrived here. He's been so stoic faced around you it actually felt disturbing sometimes, how straightfaced he can be. But not now. He's showing such real emotions it makes something inside your chest melt just a little.

He throws a casual arm around your shoulder and turns both of you to your awe-struck peers. You can't help the flush that crosses your cheeks at the gesture.  
  
"Alright. Anyone who shits on Karkat has to deal with me. Got that?" He shouted over the crowd, swinging the sword around expertly in his other hand.  _Show off._  
  
And he's yours.  
  
And maybe, just maybe... You aren't as useless as your perceived yourself to be. Maybe, you've got potential. Maybe.  
  
Maybe you're just a really late bloomer.

**Author's Note:**

> Well shit I'm fucknut. I didn't mean to post this yet it's so under construction f u c k. :/ but it's here. Please go easy on me. 
> 
> P.s. chapters may go into radical changes bc like I said, this wasn't supposed to be fucking posted holy shit.


End file.
